One Week With Inuyasha
by Arsahi
Summary: Inuyasha is trapped in Kagome's world for a week. If Saturday afternoon goes horribly, how does the rest of the week look?*Message to the Readers updated*
1. Saturday Afternoon

_Hi guys! This is my first Inuyasha fanfic! I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review!_  
  


**One Week With Inuyasha  
Chapter One: Saturday Afternoon**

  
  
_Pain_.  
  
The thought flashed through the hanyou's head as one of the endless youkai or mononoke tried to chop his head off, missing his neck and stabbing him in the shoulder. Blood seeped through his red top even as he realized he had to lead the monster away from the well since Kagome had the shikon shards at the moment. He leapt to his left, flying through the trees and foliage, heedless of his wound, turned right, gave a running jump, kicked the side of the well as he tried to stop and toppled over into the well. As he did, the mononoke peered over the edge, snorted, and sealed the well shut by tossing pieces of charmed paper warding off anything that wasn't it. It decided to gather all the shikon shards it could before re-opening the well and once more facing the hanyou.  
  
Inuyasha tumbled through the well on feudal Japan's side, landing with a thud on the bottom of Kagome's side. With a grumble, he climbed out and jumped back in, only to land once more on the bottom. Cursing rather vividly, he climbed out and stalked into Kagome's house, ignoring the protests of Sota, Kagome's mother, and her grandfather. Instead, he stormed up the stairs, threw open Kagome's door, and came face-to-face with the teenager.  
  
"Er...hello, Inuyasha," Kagome said.  
  
"Open the well," Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"I didn't close it," Kagome told him, puzzled.  
  
"It's not open. So open it," Inuyasha reiterated. "I fell through and can't go back. Open it, wench!"  
  
Kagome glared. "I didn't _close_ it! It should be _open_! Maybe you're just too thick to go through again!"  
  
Inuyasha growled at her. "Open. The. Damn. Well."  
  
Kagome narrowed her eyes. "It. _Is_. Open!"  
  
Inuyasha took Kagome by the collar and dragged her out to the well, where he promptly jumped in and landed with a resounding thud.  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
"It's closed, wench. Like I said."  
  
Kagome sighed. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but I can't help you." It was Saturday afternoon and she had _plans_. Speaking of which, she checked her watch. "Dammit!" she cursed. "I'm going to be late! Inuyasha, stay here. Maybe if you're nice, Mama will make you some ramen."  
  
"Ramen?" he repeated eagerly, instantly forgetting the current problem of the shut well.  
  
Kagome nodded. "Bye!"  
  
"Wait!" Inuyasha yelled as she ran.  
  
Momentarily, she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked quizzically.  
  
"To the movies with Hojo," she told him. "Er...and I'll be late. BYE!"  
  
Inuyasha watched her dart off. "'Hojo'?" he repeated with distaste. "Feh! Sounds like a loser." He tried one more time for the well and limped back into the house.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Sota yelled. "Hi!"  
  
"Yo." He raised a hand in greeting.  
  
"Ah, hello, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said. She steered him into the kitchen. "What brings you here today?"  
  
"An accident," Inuyasha admitted. "The well shut itself so I'll be stuck here until it opens."  
  
Mrs. Higurashi nodded sympathetically. "Poor boy."  
  
Inuyasha pouted. "Kagome said you would make me some ramen..."  
  
"Of course!" she agreed. "You just sit right here and it'll be ready in a few minutes.  
  
Taking a seat, he thought about Kagome and her outting with Hojo. A thought struck him: "Is Kagome out on a _date_?!"  
  
Smiling, Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "With Hojo, yes."  
  
"Do they go to the same school?" he asked skeptically.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Feh!"  
  
A plan hatched in his mind.  
  
"Why? Do you want to meet Hojo?" Mrs. Higurashi wanted to know.  
  
"Er...yes."  
  
"That's so nice of you to watch out for Kagome. He father died when she was younger, just a little girl, and her grandfather isn't much help. So for you to look out for her..."  
  
"I do it all the time." He scratched his ear while she handed him his bowl. "Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  


*******

  
  
Kagome loked at her watch, trying to illuminate the face so she could read the time. _Dammit,_ she cursed mentally.  
  
"Higurashi?" Hojo whispered.  
  
She jumped. "Yes?"  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked with worry. "You keep looking at your watch..."  
  
_Inuyasha...you always cause problems...argh! Why did you have to pop up so suddenly?!_ she thought fervently. To Hojo she said, "My...mom's friend's son came over earlier. He's...in a spot of...trouble and...I'm just worried about him. He's a really close friend."  
  
Hojo frowned. "You could have told me you couldn't come."  
  
"No! I want to stay," Kagome addured him. "Besides, my mom and Sota and grandpa are all home. There's nothing I can do, anyway."  
  
Hojo smiled and took her hand. "Okay."  
  
_Damn you, Inuyasha._  
  
"Hojo?" she whispered.  
  
"Yes?" he replied.  
  
"I need to use the restroom and get something to eat," she explained.  
  
He pushed some paper yen into her hand. She thanked him and escaped up the aisle, burst out the door and sank down against the wall beside it. _Stupid Inuyasha. Making me worry about him and the well._  
  
The image of Inuyasha floated through her mind.  
  
_He...he got hurt!_  
  
Kagome ran back into the theatre. "Hojo, I'm sorry, but...there's been an emergency. The friend I told you about had to go to the emergency room for his asthma. I'm sorry. Bye!"  
  
She tore out of the cinema and hurried towards home. _Inuyasha...you tried to hide it from me and probably his it from Mama...but I know you better than anyone else in this world and your world._ She ran across the street, legs pumping furiously under her skirt. _I know you're hurt..._  
  
"He just better not bleed all over my room," she grumbled as she stepped onto the Higurashi property. She found Inuyasha on the wall of the well, wincing and holding his shoulder while trying to remove his fire rat armor. "Inuyasha?"  
  
He looked up and almost fell backwards, ears twitching. _Shit._ "Why aren't you with your," he paused to fight down a snarl, "date?"  
  
Kagome sighed, rummaging around the shelves around the well and finally surfacing with a first aide box.  
  
Inuyasha blinked and laid back his ears. "I'm fine."  
  
With narrowed eyes, Kagome pulled him off of the edge of the well and made him sit on a wide, sturdy box. She plopped down on his lap, placing the first aide box on hers, and peeled back his armor. "Fine, eh?" she asked of him, feeling the blood in the material and also seeing it in the white cloth beneath the red.  
  
Inuyasha had yet to move.  
  
She peeled the white cloth back and opened the first aide box on her lap.  
  
_...Kagome...you know me too well..._ Of its own accord, Inuyasha's uninjured arm settled itself around her waist. Kagome's heart sped up, trying to leap out of her chest. She felt her cheeks burn at Inuyasha's sudden touchy-feely urges.  
  
"Th-there." She patted his shoulder. "We need to wash this..." Before riding, she took his armor off along with the undershirt, gulping. It wasn't like she had never seen him like this before, just never this close...  
  
Not to mention she was very aware of Inuyasha's fingers dancing along her stomach, his arm tightening. His golden eyes locked on her brown ones intently, and she tilted her head ever so slightly. Closer they came, Inuyasha opened his mouth a little bit, angled to catch hers.  
  
"Ahem."  
  
They sprang apart, Kagome tumbling into the well backwards, only to find Inuyasha had jumped up and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her out, blushing slightly, and she looked at her grandfather, grinning embarrassedly. "Sorry, grandpa," she told him, grabbing the red material. She reached to grab the white one as he did, their fingertips brushing. "Er..."  
  
Inuyasha dropped it onto her head, abnormally quiet.  
  
From underneath the blood-soaked white cloth, she said, "Inuyasha."  
  
"...Yes?" he asked, almost fearfully.  
  
"Sit."  
  
She heard a satisfying crash and yelp.  
  
Inuyasha scrambled to his feet as she left the small wooden shelter, holding the blood-stained materials. "What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, racing after her.  
  
"Dropping _this_ on me!" she told him, turning around and holding the white out. "I'm about to go wash it and _now_ I have to take a bath because I have youkai blood on my hair!"  
  
"It's nothing new, Kagome," he growled. "You've had my blood on you before! It's nothing to s-word me for!"  
  
"And I always washed!" she huffed. She turned on her heel and started towards the house. "Inuyasha. My shikon shards."  
  
"I don't have them," he lied.  
  
"You're lying. Give them back," she stated.  
  
"I don't have them, Kagome," he whined.  
  
"Sit."  
  
He fell over again, the shikon shards bouncing off of his person and landing at her feet.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Give those back!"  
  
"No."  
  
He got up and started after her again.  
  
"Sit."  
  
He fell and came back up.  
  
"Sit."  
  
He growled, fell, came back up, and ran.  
  
"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!"  
  
Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash.  
  
"Damn you, Kagome!"  
  
"_SIT_!"  
  
He fell.  
  
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him and ran into the house to wash his clothes.  
  


*******

  
  
When Kagome had put Inuyasha's things into the washer, she came out to the living room to find her grandfather trying to teach Inuyasha how to play Go Fish.  
  
"See, the goal is to get three or four cards with the same number on them. If you ask me for a number you have and I don't have it, then I say 'Go Fish' and you pick a card from the pile," Grandpa tried to explain.  
  
Inuyasha looked cluelessly at him.  
  
"Deal, Grandpa," Kagome said. "Inuyasha and I will be a team since you are like three people."  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Feh! I don't need your help."  
  
She stuck her tongue out at him again. He muttered something about sticking her tongue out again and he'd cut it off. "Right. You never need my help."  
  
"Damn straight."  
  
"Might I remind you of the s-word?" Kagome taunted.  
  
"You let that word flow too freely here," he grumbled.  
  
Kagome picked up their cards, organizing them in numerical order. "Any...fives?"  
  
"Go Fish."  
  
Kagome picked up a card. "See, Inuyasha?"  
  
He nodded his great big silver head and watched, still quite shirtless.  
  
"Nines."  
  
Kagome handed over the nines.  
  
"Chi! Why did you do that?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Because if the opponent asks of it and you have it, then you have to forfeit it," Kagome explained.  
  
"Feh."  
  
"Any queens?" Grandpa asked.  
  
"Go fish, old man!" the hanyou crowed.  
  
Grandpa grumbled as Inuyasha examined their cards. "Any ones?"  
  
"Aces. Those are called 'aces,'" Kagome explained.  
  
Inuyasha nodded. "What she said."  
  
Grandpa handed over two aces.  
  
"Sixes?"  
  
Grandpa handed those over too.  
  
The half-youkai grinned wickedly. "Eights."  
  
"Go. Fish."  
  
"Shit!"  
  
"Inuyasha, we're in a _shrine_ you moron."  
  


*******

  
  
Shippo yawned. "I miss Kagome."  
  
"Me too," Sango sighed.  
  
"I, too, miss Kagome's beautiful face," Miroku admitted, only to find Sango's fist connect with the top of his head. He grumbled and rubbed the bump there.  
  
Shippo's tail twitched and he sniffed the air, ignoring Miroku and Sango's antics. "Where's Inuyasha?"  
  
Sango paused. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since he went after that mononoke. He should be back by now..."  
  
Miroku grinned knowingly. "I'll bet he went to the well for a secret rendezvous--a tryst, if you will--with our fair la--"  
  
Sango clamped a hand over his mouth. "Not in front of Shippo!" The monk tried to answer and failed. "Inuyasha wouldn't do that anyway."  
  
"Let's go to the well," Shippo suggested. "He's bound to go there sometime!"  
  
"Yes," Miroku agreed, ducking out of Sango's distracted hold. "Good idea. Come on, Sango."  
  
They all trudged to the well.  
  
Suddenly, Shippo stopped. "I smell Inuyasha, but not a lot. He was here a while ago." He sniffed out a trail. "It stops here." He ran over to where Inuyasha had briefly stepped on the well. "He went in!"  
  
Miroku grinned obnoxiously at Sango.  
  
She knocked him over the head.  
  
"I'm going down to see if he really did," Shippo announced, dropping in. "Hey..." he said, then followed it with a pained cry as the charms repelled his kitsune feet. He clung to Sango as he surfaced, breathing hard with fear and pain. "Sango...Inuyasha went down there, but...how could he with those charms?"  
  
Miroku peered over the edge and almost toppled backwards. "Those aren't just charms, Shippo."  
  
"What are they?" Sango pressed.  
  
"Seals. They're seals to ward off whoever tries to pass through the well again," Miroku sighed.  
  
"Seals?" Sango repeated, joining him in peering over the ledge.  
  
"Get behind me. I'm going to try to suck up the seals with my houkiri," Miroku informed them. Sango moved behind him as he removed his rosary. The air void opened and sucked in leaves around them but failed to pull the seals from their holds. "Dammit," he cursed, wrapping his air void up again.  
  
Shippo whined and dropped to the ground, pouting. A terrible thought struck him: "Are Inuyasha and Kagome stuck on the other side?!"  
  
Sango and Miroku exchanged looks, and Miroku nodded.  
  
Shippo fainted.  
  
"SHIPPO!"  
  


*******

  
  
"What's this?" Inuyasha asked, poking one of Kagome's books like it would bite.  
  
"It's a textbook," Kagome answered distractedly as she tried to do her homework. A thought suddenly dawned on her and she looked over at him, eyes landing on his exposed chest. "We need to get you some clothes."  
  
"I have clothes," Inuyasha retorted defensively.  
  
"No. You have a rather dull _outfit_. What you need is _clothes_," Kagome corrected.  
  
"What's the difference?" Inuyasha sighed. "I like my fire rat armor and my white shirt. Do you have a problem with it?"  
  
"It's a little...er...old fashioned for what people wear now. Your hair is no problem--your ears we can hide by making you wear a hat. But your clothes...nothing will attack you here, but I'll carry around your armor in my backpack just in case you need it. But we need to get you modernized," she finished.  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "I'm not moving _in_, Kagome! I'm just--_stuck_ here."  
  
The telephone rang but Kagome ignored it. "And as long as you're stuck here you'll be stuck _here_ if you don't get some more modern clothes."  
  
"Kagome! Telephone! It's Hojo!" Mrs. Higurashi called.  
  
"Coming!" she called back. She tossed a look to Inuyasha and tore off down the stairs, taking the phone from her mother with a thank you. Inuyasha collided into her from behind and Kagome glared as she said said cheerfully into the phone, "Hello, Hojo!"  
  
Inuyasha sat on his heels and looked up at Kagome with this contraption to her ear.  
  
"Er...my friend? Oh, he's fine," she lied. She motioned for Inuyasha to go away but he wouldn't budge. Rolling her eyes, she turned her back to the dog half-youkai. "It was nothing serious. They just gave him a shot and he was fine..." she paused, listening. "Oh? Next Saturday? You want me to go to a sit-down dinner with you?"  
  
Inuyasha tumbled to the floor.  
  
Kagome hid her smile and apologized to Inuyasha. "Ah? Oh, that was my friend. He tripped over my textbook." Inuyasha tried to threaten her but she put her hand on his forehead and held him at arm's length. "...His name? Ah...he's Inuyas--ogiri. Inuyasogiri."  
  
"Inuyasogiri?" Inuyasha huffed. "What kind of name is _that_?"  
  
"Shut up, Inuyasha," she hissed. "Oh...well, we call him Inuyasha...he dressed up as a dog for a party once and the nickname stuck. That's all...eh? Okay. I'll see if I'm doing anything next Saturday and let you know on Monday, okay? Bye!" Kagome set the phone back on the cradle and turned to Inuyasha. "Welcome to the modern world, Inuyasogiri."  
  
Inuyasha snorted. "No thanks."  
  
He started out the door, Kagome trailing him. "Well, in any case, Hojo wants to meet you."  
  
"What's _up_ with this Hojo guy?" Inuyasha demanded, whirling to face her. They stood in the middle of the property, in plain sight to anyone who happened by. "Ever since I got here it's just 'Hojo this' and 'Hojo that' and god you'd think he was your boyfriend!"  
  
Kagome blinked. "Well...he is, sorta."  
  
For a moment, Inuyasha did nothing. Then his face contorted into something resembling displeasure and hate and he stormed into the well.  
  
"I doubt it's open by now. And why do you care, Inuyasha?" Kagome pressed, following him.  
  
"Leave me alone, wench," he growled. He leapt over the edge and landed with a dull thump on the ground. "Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!"  
  
"You've hardly been here three hours, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. "It's not that bad!"  
  
"For you, maybe, but for me..." Inuyasha looked up at her. "I've already been s-worded twelve times. That's four times in each hour."  
  
"I'm sorry!" Kagome apologized, jumping in after him. The well didn't open for her either. "I guess it is closed."  
  
With the well shut to the fuedal world, it seemed rather cramped with the muscled hanyou and Kagome in there. "I didn't mean to s-word you the last time."  
  
"Yeah, but you did it eleven times when I first got here."  
  
"Well, I had reason! First you dropped that bloody thing on my head, then you lied to me about having my shikon shards, and then you kept trying to steal them back."  
  
"That's beside the point!" Inuyasha yelled. It echoed in the walls of the well and seemed louder than normal. "I don't _belong_ here, Kagome!"  
  
"Well, you're _stuck_ here, so deal with it, dog boy!" Kagome yelled back at him.  
  
"Feh." He rolled his eyes at her. "You're really bad at comebacks."  
  
"And you're a petty crybaby," Kagome informed him. "I mean, really. If you would stop pissing and moaning about being stuck here I could make it enjoyable for you."  
  
"Enjoyable? Chi. By doing what?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Well, we could watch a movie, or we could watch TV, or you could play a video game with Sota, or we could go out if you would go and get some clothes with me," Kagome suggested.  
  
He had other things in mind.  
  
_Gah! Shut up, hormones! Stop looking for a replacement for Kikyo in Kagome!_ the Inuyashabrain yelled at the rest of him.  
  
_Ah, but is she really anything like Kikyo? Sure, she's got the same soul, with the same looks and the same purification powers and the Shikon no Tama and shikon shards...but they act nothing alike,_ his hormones argued.  
  
Inuyasha, while all this happened behind the scenes, had taken to staring at Kagome. "Clothes...?"  
  
"Aha! So you'll go with me?" Kagome cried cheerfully. "Well, promise me this. Promise you'll go with me tomorrow because I have a lot of homework to do today and...well, just promise not to act all dumb tomorrow 'cause you'll be stuck in my house if you are." She held out her pinky. "Pinky swear?"  
  
"Pinky swear?" Inuyasha looked at her as if she had lost her mind.  
  
"It's a promise, just it's made stronger by the pinky swearing. I don't know, I just like to do it." Kagome shrugged. "Well?"  
  
"I promise and...pinky swear...whatever the hell that is," Inuyasha agreed.  
  
"Hold out your pinky," she instructed. He did. "Now hook it around mine." He did. "Now, shake." They shook. "That's a pinky swear."  
  
"...We just pinky-swore in the bottom of our well," Inuyasha said oddly. He looked down at Kagome, who smiled. He felt the irresistable urge to take her in his arms and hold her forever, little did he know that she wanted him to do the very same thing.  
  
"Our well..." Kagome repeated, looking up at the top of the shed.  
  
"That's what it is, isn't it? Only you and I could pass through it..." Inuyasha reminded her, shrugging.  
  
_Thump, thump._  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
"Yeah, Kagome?"  
  
"Do you ever look up at the moon and wonder if the person you love is looking at the very same moon?" she asked quietly, folding her hands behind her back. _Please say yes, please say yes...I think it all the time..._  
  
_But we can never look at the same moon,_ Inuyasha thought despairingly. _Especially not when we're where we belong..._  
  
"Feh. Hell no, Kagome. I don't do sappy shit like that," he told her.  
  
Kagome looked at him sharply, narrowing her eyes. "Shut up, Inuyasha. I know you do. I watch you when you think everyone's asleep because you have your back to our camp. I watch you look up at the moon and I know you're wondering--is Kikyo looking at the moon right now too?" she spat.  
  
"Kikyo?" he repeated. "Feh! Kikyo is in the past!"  
  
"Only because you're here in modern times," she retorted. She began to climb up the ladder.  
  
"Oi--Kagome, wait!" he cried. However, she had almost made it to the top. "Screw this," he muttered and leapt from the bottom out of the well. "What the hell is your problem, Kagome?!"  
  
She refused to answer him.  
  
"Kagome!" he shouted as she ran across the property. "Kagome!"  
  
"SIT!"  
  
"Dammit!"  
  


*******

  
  
Startled, Inuyasha came to the conclusion that Kagome had locked him out of her room. He felt violated and somewhat betrayed for this notion as he pounded on the wood. "Kagome! Kagome, open up!"  
  
"Go away, Inuyasha! I need to do my homework!" she yelled.  
  
Confused, he stood in the hallway, still without his shirt, when Kagome breezed out of the door and down to the washroom. She came back and thrust his clothes at him, ducking into her room and subsequently locking her door.  
  
"Kagome..." he whined, pulling the white material over himself. "What the hell is your problem?"  
  
"Go see if the well's opened yet."  
  
"We just came from there! We know it isn't open," he argued. "Remember? We made that promise..."  
  
Kagome threw open the door. "You just don't give up, do you?!" she cried. "_Go away_!"  
  
Inuyasha pushed his way into her room. "I just wanna sit on your bed and keep an eye on the shikon shards..."  
  
"Absolutely not!" she grabbed his arm and threw him out again. "And _stay out_, you mangy cur!"  
  
He heard the soft _click_ as the door locked again.  
  
Sighing, he trudged down the stairs and joined Sota on the sofa. "What's up?"  
  
Sota looked at Inuyasha scrutinizingly. "Why do you give Sis such a hard time?"  
  
Inuyasha twitched and came face to face with the younger boy. "It's none of your damn business."  
  
Quickly, Sota scrambled backwards. He tumbled off of the sofa and stood in the middle of the room, pointing an accusatory finger and crowing triumphantly: "You're in love with Sis!"  
  
Inuyasha blushed ever so slightly and yelled, "I am _not_!"  
  
Sota laughed and fled the room, leaving Inuyasha alone with his thoughts. _Am I?_ he wondered. _Am I in love with Kagome? Should I be in love with Kagome? Or am I just in love with Kikyo's soul that's in Kagome? If that's true, then do I love the soul-eating Kikyo? Are they the same? Is soul-eating Kikyo the same as Kikyo-souled Kagome?_ The hanyou scratched his head and stared blankly at the dark television screen. _Everyone thinks we're in love...have we actually fallen in love and just not realized it?_  
  
"Too many thoughts," he grumbled.  
  
Meanwhile, Kagome sat with her head on her textbook and pencil moving in random designs. _Stupid Inuyasha. I hate him. Well, not_ hate _hate but I hate him. He's so...stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Why does he have to have that affect on me? The effect that makes me want to shiver and want to kiss him until he can't breathe and I until I can't breathe and until neither of us can stand?_ she shivered at just the thought. _He always makes my heart beat so fast...just like it is now. Stop...why does he have to make me feel this way? He loves Kikyo...he's made that more than clear..._  
  
"Inuyasha..." she murmured. She looked at her paper and realized what was on there. "GAH! STUPID INUYASHA!"  
  
She had written his name repeatedly in the answer blanks on her worksheet.  
  
"What did I do _now_?" he asked irritably from the other side of the door.  
  
"You..." Kagome trailed off. "I just felt like yelling 'stupid Inuyasha.' Do you have a problem with it?"  
  
She heard a snort. "I don't care what you think."  
  
"Good. You wanna know what I really think of you?"  
  
"Not particularly."  
  
"Do you care?"  
  
"Not at all."  
  
Kagome huffed. "I think you're an arrogant, selfish, petty, greedy, delusional, uncaring, bloody-thirsty, ignorant moron!"  
  
"Oh? Well you're a self-righteous, prying, nosy, selfish, petty, immature, childish, argumentative bitch."  
  
"Go away."  
  
"No comebacks, Kagome?"  
  
"Why do you have to taunt me all the time?!"  
  
"Because it's fun."  
  
Kagome threw her door open so hard it nearly ripped from the hinges. She planted her foot squarely in his stomach and pushed as hard as she could, stuck her tongue out, and shut the door. Once more locked, Kagome sat down at her desk, erased all the Inuyasha marks and went happily about her homework.  
  
_Ha. In love with Inuyasha? No way._  
  
_Wait a second..."in love with Inuyasha"? Where'd_ that _come from?_  
  


*******

  
  
That evening, Inuyasha elected to eat his dinner out by the well so he could figure out exactly what had happened.  
  
He set his dinner down on the box that he and Kagome had sat on earlier and had just about leapt into the well when Kagome entered the shed.  
  
Sighing, he returned to his dinner and tried to ignore Kagome.  
  
"Any luck?" she asked.  
  
He shook his head. "I was just about to check and see if it had opened again."  
  
"I'll go," Kagome offered. She began down the well when she felt him grab the back of her outfit and haul her out of the well. "What was that for?"  
  
He shook his head again. "Don't go down there. I'm betting that the mononoke I was trying to lead away from the well earlier sealed it shut and I can't tell anyone. There's no way to remove the seals on this side, so I'm guessing I'm not stuck here forever."  
  
A moment of silence passed. "I'm sorry about earlier, Inuyasha," Kagome admitted. She was referring to the string of insults she had aimed at him earlier. "I didn't mean to s-word you so much too. And...call you all those names but you're just so...obnoxious!"  
  
Inuyasha twitched. "Hmph!" he set aside his dinner, leapt into the well, and landed with a thud on the bottom. "Ouch..."  
  
"...Idiot..." Kagome told him as she peered over the edge.  
  
Grumbling, Inuyasha climbed out of the weel and picked up his dinner again. Kagome sat next to him. "Inuyasha, do you like to wear hats?"  
  
"What kind of hat?" he asked skeptically.  
  
She found her bag and dug one out. She slipped it over his head and grinned. "You need it to cover up your ears."  
  
"What?" Inuyasha asked. "Kagome, I can't hear anything with this on..."  
  
She pulled it off and stuck it on her own head. "If only you had human ears...I suppose we could tell everyone that it's a wid and you're an actor." She giggled and smiled at him. "Inuyasogiri, also known as Inuyasha, the actor who has some trouble and is staying at the temple until he's okay."  
  
Inuyasha snorted like a distempered horse.  
  
"Ah well," Kagome shrugged. "You'll have to stick with it because I said so."  
  
"Idiot," he informed her.  
  
She ignored him. "Oh! We have to figure out where you'll sleep tonight." She scratched her head through the cap. "I'm sure Sota wouldn't mind you sleeping in his room, or we could put you in the living room. Or, if you want to sleep outside you can..."  
  
"I want to sleep with you," he protested.  
  
Kagome turned beet red exactly two seconds before the hanyou realized the implications of what he just said.  
  
"Pervert! SIT!"  
  
He crashed to the floor.  
  
"Dammit, Kagome! I mean I want to sleep in your room! I'm used to sleeping where the shikon shards are and they're in your room," he explained. _Not to mention I get lonely without you. Damned if I say it though._  
  
"No." She shook her head. "I can't allow it."  
  
"Kagome...I'm not Miroku. I won't try anything. Not to mention I don't _want_ to try anything. We all sleep in a group in my time anyway."  
  
"No, no, no. You sleep in the living room. In your time it's okay to sleep in the same room and space but here it's immoral unless you're related, married, or dating!"  
  
He pouted at her.  
  
"Stop. It won't work on me."  
  
"Bah. I've decided I don't want to sleep in your girly room anyway."  
  
"Even better."  
  
"Let's go get me set up then. I've had a rough day."  
  
He fingered Tetsuaiga and remembered the mononoke. Sighing, he walked with Kagome up to the house and watched her set up his temporary bed. It was just a blanket tucked into the sofa with a pillow and another blanket on top. He knew not half of the evening would pass before he moved into Kagome's room but he humored her anyway.  
  
Kagome wanted him to sleep in her room because she felt safe with him, but it would look horribly wrong if she let him. "If you're really worried about the shikon shards, I can bring them down here..."  
  
"Feh. I don't care," Inuyasha snorted.  
  
_Inuyasha...?_  
  
"Okay." She settled in a chair near Inuyasha on his makeshift sleeping area and flipped on the TV, startling him.  
  
"I'm trying to sleep!" he snapped.  
  
"You can sleep through anything. If you can sleep on the back of my bicycle, you can deal with the TV," Kagome retorted.  
  
He groaned, lied down, and turned his back to Kagome. Within fifteen minutes, he had drifted off to sleep. A smile donned Kagome's lips and she snuggled into her chair. Not twenty minutes passed before Inuyasha tucked his rat coat around her sleeping form, picked her up, and toted her upstairs to her room. He contemplated undressing her and putting her pajamas on, but blushed profusely at the mere idea and tucked her in her bed. He also didn't want a sitting.  
  
"Inuyasha..."  
  
He froze and looked at her. She had her eyes barely open and peering over the edge of her covers. "Thank you...and I'm still sorry."  
  
His golden eyes softened at her sentiments. He knew she wouldn't remember in the morning in light of his sneaking into her room in the middle of the night but it would work for now: "Don't worry about it." Silently, he shut off the lights and ducked out of the room, running down the stairs and turning off the television before lying back down. He could smell Kagome on the blanket and on his clothes, making him feel safer than he had ever felt and more at home. In fact, he felt more at home in Kagome's home than his own, which gave him the chills.  
  
A sudden thought struck him.  
  
Tomorrow night would have been the dreaded First Night, but...there was no _way_ that tomorrow night in Kagome's world would be the same. Plus, he didn't know whether or not he would react the same way. He hoped he would stay human for the First Day as well, just so he could meet this Hojo chump.  
  
He would protect his Kagome.  
  
When did he start refering to her as _his_ Kagome?  
  
"Ah well," he muttered, and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.  
  


*******

  
  
He woke at midnight.  
  
He panicked, not realizing where he was but Kagome's scent around him calmed him somewhat. His mind caught up with his senses a moment later and he remembered where he was.  
  
"That's it," he mumbled. This was the third time he had woken up without knowing where he was. It happened whenever Kagome left for the modern world in the feudalistic one as well, only he knew where he was most of the time. Grumbling, he grabbed his pillow and blanket with firm resolve and trudged up to Kagome's room. Slowly, he opened the door and looked at Kagome, sleeping peacefully with his red armor around her. He fought a smile as he shut the door, situating himself parallel to her bed, facing her.  
  
_Now_ he could sleep, which was exactly what he did. 


	2. Sunday Morning

_Thanks belong to: Starry, nyc-pwyncess, vampyrgrl (haven't you reviewed some of my other stories?), giggleplex, Michikaru (lol...love ya, girl), Mia, Crystal Mizuka, miroku's-my-man (lol! as long as I can have Inuyasha), and Meggie-sama_  
  
(Disclaimer: none of this belongs to me. Inuyasha's my pimp, but I can share, I guess. Other than that, the fic idea belongs to me.)  
  


**One Week With Inuyasha  
Chapter Two: Sunday Morning**

  
  
She felt warm and safe, dreading to float out of the cushioned embrace of slumber. However, the sun peered through her curtains, showering her face with rays of sunlight. With a small groan, Kagome opened her eyes and gazed up at the ceiling with something akin to reluctance. She turned and swung one foot over her mattress, coming into contact with something soft.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Kagome blinked groggily. "Huh?"  
  
"Way to go, Kagome!" Inuyasha cried irritably, rubbing his head and glaring at her.  
  
Kagome realized then that Inuyasha's red armor was wrapped around her. A few moments later, she remembered that he had tucked her into bed. Apparently, he had snuck into her room afterwards.  
  
"Why are you in my room, Inuyasha?" she asked.  
  
"Wanted to keep an eye on the Shikon shards," he lied.  
  
"I thought you said you didn't care," she countered suspiciously.  
  
"Changed my mind," he grunted.  
  
_Inuyasha...you...moron,_ Kagome mused.  
  
She decided to let it go. "Ah well. Today's shopping day!"  
  
_Shit. That's right. I promised Kagome we would go shopping today,_ Inuyasha cursed mentally. _I promised, so...feh._  
  
"I hope we don't run into any of my friends today. At least, not until you have normal pants and a normal shirt," said Kagome. "Also, you need a bath."  
  
Inuyasha snorted.  
  
"You have to live by modern rules," she explained as she got out of bed. "I'll take a bath first and then you can. I don't know how we'll wash your hair..."  
  
"We?" he repeated. "No. Me. I. One person."  
  
"Whatever, Inuyasha," she replied. "Now get out of my room."  
  
"No," he said obstinately.  
  
Sighing, she grabbed clothes out of her closet and headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.  
  
Mrs. Higurashi came into Kagome's room, carrying some male clothes. "Inuyasha, I heard you're going shopping with Kagome today. Yesterday after dinner, I bought you some clothes, so here." She handed him two shirts, a pair of jeans, and a belt, and a pair of sandals. "I hope they fit. If they don't, you'll get some clothes that fit with Kagome anyway."  
  
"...Thanks," said Inuyasha, somewhat stunned and bewildered. He knew where Kagome got her kindness from at least. The woman left and Inuyasha changed. The jeans fit loosely around his waist so he tied the belt around him. He pulled on the shirt, finding that it clung to his chest like a second skin. A closer glance at the second shirt Mrs. Higurashi had brought showed it was a loose-fitting jacket.  
  
Kagome entered her room and gave a startled yelp at the sight of the hanyou. He jammed his hands into the pockets of the jacket and pouted at her. "What?" he asked defensively.  
  
_He's...hot..._ she thought. _God, is it illegal to look that good?_  
  
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably under her appraising gaze and slipped on the sandals. "Your mom got it for me."  
  
It was a white shirt with dark blue jeans and a black jacket.  
  
"It looks good," Kagome told him. "It looks great, even."  
  
Kagome herself wore a pale pink dress with white shoes. "You look...don't you ever get tired of wearing dresses all the time?"  
  
Twitching, Kagome refrained from a sitting and took him by the ear to the bathroom. She locked the door behind them and ran the water. "You may want to take that off. Don't want to get it wet," she explained, motioning to his jacket and shirt.  
  
Inuyasha obliged, griping the whole time.  
  
When she got the hot water where she wanted it, she told him to tilt his head back into it. Gently, she washed his hair, careful of his ears. Inuyasha, having a momentary lapse into the world of hormonal malehood, looked down the top of Kagome's dress while she did. Kagome, luckily for him, failed to notice. However, she _did_ notice when he stopped grumbling due to all of the fun he was having spying on her chest.  
  
"What, no more complaints?" she inquired, rinsing his long hair of the suds.  
  
"Are you done yet?" he retorted.  
  
"Just about."  
  
She rinsed his hair one last time and grabbed a towel, drying her arms off and handing it to him. Gracefully, he accepted the proferred towel and gently dried off his hair. "I don't stink, do I?"  
  
Kagome sniffed him. "No."  
  
He nodded. "Good. Then let's hurry and get this shopping day over with."  
  
Still a little drowsy, Kagome led him to her room. She ordered him to sit between her legs as she sat down on her desk chair and pointed to the floor between her feet. The hanyou obliged with little complaining, much to Kagome's shock and relief, and she began to brush his hair.  
  
This passed in silence, much to Kagome's further relief, and he pulled on his shirt and jacket. Shifting uncomfortably, he tugged at the shirt, unused to such clothes. "How do wear these _constricting_ clothes?" he demanded.  
  
"I don't," she replied innocently, smiling. Inuyasha thought dirty thoughts and blushed. Kagome saw this. "Pervert! _SIT_!"  
  
He tumbled to the floor. "Oi! KAGOME!"  
  
Downstairs, Sota looked up and said, "Inuyasha and Kagome are awake."  
  
Mrs. Higurashi laughed. "Yes they are."  
  
Inuyasha and Kagome came downstairs and went out into the crisp spring morning, storming into the well and trying to jump the wall. Kagome caught the hanyou's hair though.  
  
"Ow!" he shouted. "Let go!"  
  
"No! We just washed your hair!" she barked. Her feet were slipping on the floor as she argued with him. "Just...get...out!"  
  
She tumbled over the edge of the well.  
  
"Kagome!" he cried. He grabbed her out of the air and propelled himself off of one of the edge's before jumping out. "Are you trying to kill yourself?!"  
  
She hit him. "You're _heavy_!"  
  
"I'm not heavy--you're weak!" he snapped.  
  
"I'm not _weak_!"  
  
"Yes you are!"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"Yes you are!"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"Yes you are!"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"_Kikyo_ is strong!"  
  
Gasping, Kagome felt like he had punched her physically. "I'm going to go eat breakfast now, you stupid hanyou."  
  
Belatedly, he realized what had just come out of his mouth. _Stupid. Why did you bring up Kikyo?_ With a groan, he climbed into the well, which didn't open. He hadn't expected it to, he found as he once more climbed out and trudged sullenly into the house. He joined Kagome, Sota, Mrs. Higurashi, and Kagome's grandfather at the table, muttered a thank you, and refused to look Kagome in the eyes. If she couldn't handle him comparing her to her former self--which he was in love with, he added mentally--that was _her_ problem.  
  
Then, for no apparent reason, Kagome said:  
  
"Sit."  
  
Swiftly, his face slammed into the table. "You bitch!"  
  
"Sit."  
  
"What the hell was _that_ for?!"  
  
"Sit."  
  
"Damn you!"  
  
"Sit."  
  
"Kagome, please," Mrs. Higurashi said pleadingly. "Stop doing that."  
  
"Okay, Mama," Kagome agreed.  
  
"Inuyasha, please don't curse at the table and please apologize for whatever you did to Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi requested politely.  
  
"Feh. No way," he snorted. "I didn't do anything!"  
  
"Si--" she started but Sota tugged on her sleeve.  
  
"Sis, Mama said not to," Sota reminded her.  
  
Feeling a little peeved, she nodded, spared an irritated glare at Inuyasha, and decided to get her purse from the other room. "Mama?" she called. "Can I borrow some money for Inuyasha?"  
  
"I'm not going!" he informed her.  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
_She still wants to go shopping with me even though I won't apologize. She's so strange..._  
  
"I know you said what you said to make me want to leave you here instead of going shopping."  
  
_Maybe not so strange, then._  
  
"Okay, okay," he gave up. "You can do what you want with me. Take me where you wish." Inuyasha finished his meal, thanked Mrs. Higurashi, and joined Kagome. A few moments later, Mrs. Higurashi came in and handed Kagome a credit card.  
  
"Spend it wisely," she warned.  
  
"Thank you, Mama," she replied. Quickly, she took Inuyasha by the hand and stopped abruptly before the gate. "Wait here!" she told him. Confused, Inuyasha watched her run to the well and reappear a few moments later with a pen, the cap from earlier, and a pair of scissors. It was a trial to get the hat on Inuyasha's head, but when Kagome finally slid it on, she located his ears and drew a space large enough for them to poke through. She snipped it out and sat it back on his head. "There!" grinned she. "Now you don't look abnormal."  
  
"This feels weird," he complained. "But I can hear which is the point, I guess."  
  
Kagome nodded. "You'll get used to it."  
  
"This world is noisy."  
  
"I know, I'm sorry," she told him helplessly.  
  
They arrived at the bus stop and as Kagome took a seat, Inuyasha watched around them, feeling watched himself.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. She patted the seat next to her. "Come here."  
  
"Kagome," he hissed, "someone's watching me!"  
  
"Eh? Where?" she wanted to know, peering around him and the bus stop.  
  
"Over there." He jerked his head and sat down.  
  
Discreetly, Kagome looked "over there." Two of her friends were watching Inuyasha. "Ah...Eri and Yuka..."  
  
"You know them? I'm going to tell them to get lost!" he raged.  
  
"No," Kagome ordered him. Sighing, he grabbed Inuyasha's arm and led him over to Eri and Yuka. "Eri! Yuka!"  
  
"Hi, Kagome..." they trailed off, eyes on the forbidding Inuyasha. Yuka turned back to Kagome.  
  
"Is this the boyfriend you've forsaken Hojo for?"  
  
Before Kagome had the opportunity to answer, Inuyasha did. "Boyfriend? Is Hojo Kagome's boyfriend?"  
  
"Yep," nodded Eri.  
  
Inuyasha whirled to face Kagome. "I didn't know this. Why didn't you tell me this?"  
  
"Because...it's...private," she forced out.  
  
"So is this _him_?" Yuka pressed.  
  
"Out with it, Kagome!" Eri agreed.  
  
"Well--" Kagome tried to say.  
  
Inuyasha landed an arm around Kagome's shoulders and narrowed his eyes at Eri and Yuka. "I'm her boyfriend. Got a problem with it?"  
  
Yuka and Eri gasped. "Kagome!" they cried. Eri pointed an accusing finger at her. "But this is the selfish, violent, obnoxious guy you ditched for Hojo!"  
  
Kagome sweatdropped. "You guys, he's just playing. He's not really my boyfriend."  
  
"Then why did he say it?" Yuka asked suspiciously.  
  
"Beca--" she started again.  
  
"Kagome's so shy about us," Inuyasha cut in again. He grinned, showing his fangs and hugged her around the shoulders. Kagome flushed. "She just didn't want word to get out that she's dating an older guy." He winked at Eri and Yuka. "You won't let this get out, will you?"  
  
_Inuyasha, I am sitting you until I'm blue in the face when we go back home,_ Kagome thought vehemently. "We really aren't going out, you guys!"  
  
Eri and Yuka narrowed their eyes and exchanged glances. Then Yuka asked, "Then why would he say it?"  
  
Irritated, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's shoulder-length bangs and pulled him closer to Yuka and Eri. "Do you trust this face?"  
  
Eri blinked at Inuyasha. "He's..._cuuuuuute_!"  
  
Yuka peered closer. "He _is_! Kagome, why didn't you say he was so cute?"  
  
Twitching, Kagome released Inuyasha, who promptly fell to the ground. "OW! Kagome!"  
  
"You think he's _cute_?" Kagome asked incredulously.  
  
Eri and Yuka nodded vigorously.  
  
"Feh!" scoffed Inuyasha. "I'm not _cute_."  
  
Peering closer, Eri allowed, "No, you're right. You're all...manly and...handsome."  
  
Blushing, Inuyasha looked away. Kagome fought down a spurt of jealousy, grabbing Inuyasha by the hair, bidding farewell to her friends, and rushing to the bus stop. The bus rolled in a few moments later, the popping doors scaring Inuyasha at first. "Stop being such a scaredy-cat."  
  
"Cat?" Inuyasha repeated. "Feh. I don't think so."  
  
"And stop sucking up to my friends," she told him. "It's bad enough they think you're 'cute,' but now Eri thinks that you're 'manly' and 'handsome.' Really!"  
  
Inuyasha came nose to nose with her. "You don't think I'm cute or manly or handsome?"  
  
It only took a moment before Kagome delivered her verdict in monotone. "No."  
  
Inuyasha twitched. "Feh! I don't care what you think anyway. You think I'm arrogant, selfish, petty, greedy, delusional, uncaring, bloody-thirsty, ignorant, and a moron, right?"  
  
Kagome blinked. "I thought you didn't care what I thought of you."  
  
Shrugging, he looked out the window. "I don't," he muttered. _Inuyasha, what's up with you? Why are you acting so_ weird _around Kagome? She's_ Kagome _for the love of all things youkai! She's your Shikon shard locator and your friend. So what if she has a boyfriend? And don't you spend most of your time trying to convince people that you two_ aren't _in love?! If that's so, then why did you painstakingly convince her friends that you two are?_ He rubbed his forehead. _Shut up, Brain,_ his heart mumbled. _I can care less what you think! I did it 'cause I wanted to!_  
  
Meanwhile, Kagome had tried to reason out why Inuyasha had done such a thing. She had started by trying to use a form that would prove her wrong that Inuyasha had done it because he loved her. _Okay. Let's suppose that Inuyasha_ did _love me. Then Inuyasha would be nice to me because people who are in love are nice to each other. But, this contradicts the fact that_ Inuyasha is rude and ignorant and crude and perverted and just generally isn't nice to me_. So he didn't do it because he loved me. So...let's say he did it because he wanted to embarass me. Then he would have acted the way he did. Also if he had wanted to be mean...bah! I don't care!_  
  
A couple seats up, a man that looked about a couple years older than Kagome had taken to staring at her with open want. Inuyasha saw this and wrapped a protective arm around her waist, making her blush. "I-Inuyasha..."  
  
"Oi!" he called to the man ahead. "If you like her so much, take a picture! It'll last longer!"  
  
The man scoffed. "This freak your boyfriend?"  
  
Kagome stiffened and looked up at Inuyasha before answering, "Yes."  
  
"He's got silver hair and wears a hat with dog ears. You sure you want to date this loser?" the man pressed.  
  
Inuyasha tried to climb over the bus seats but Kagome held him back. "Of course I want to date this loser. He's my boyfriend, duh."  
  
"You sure? I can show you some real good times...just give me your phone number and--"  
  
"You bastard! You heard her, leave her alone!" Inuyasha erupted, golden eyes like molten lava.  
  
"Oh-ho-ho," the man chuckled. "Getting jealous?"  
  
"Not jealous, just pissed off that you're trying to use moronic tactics to make her date you!" Inuyasha tried to climb over Kagome's lap but she held him back.  
  
"This guy needs some anger management," the man muttered. He looked at Kagome. "Last chance to ditch him."  
  
"No thanks," Kagome said congenially. "I'll keep him, anger and all. He'd never hurt me, right?"  
  
"Of course not," he snarled, eyes on the irritating man.  
  
"So you see, there's really nothing you can do to make me date you, considering I don't even know you." She yawned and waved to him. "Bye!"  
  
The man turned around, grumbling, while Inuyasha smirked. "Not bad, Kagome."  
  
"Really, Inuyasha! Why did you convince my friends that we're dating?" Kagome asked suddenly.  
  
"...Hojo won't bother you anymore," shrugged he.  
  
"But I like it when Hojo bothers me, _moron_!"  
  
"Oh. Oh well."  
  
"'Oh well'? 'Oh _well_'?! 'Oh well' doesn't fix how you convinced my friends that I'm two-timing Hojo! Which I'm really _not_!"  
  
"You have bigger things to worry about anyway. Bigger fish in the sea."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
Inuyasha fingered the chain around her neck. "These."  
  
"My life can't revolve around these, Inuyasha," she told him softly. "I have a normal life. I almost have a boyfriend and I'm happy, all right? I love Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and Myouga like family and I love to go there with you guys but..."  
  
"You broke it, Kagome. You fix it. You'd die without me."  
  
"I probably would," she agreed. "But you have to understand, Inuyasha. You and the others are only half of my life. I like my modern half too."  
  
The bus stopped at its next stop, putting Inyuasha into an unusually pensive reverie. Then he spoke, "Kagome?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you love me?"  
  
"Eh? What kind of question is _that_?"  
  
"Well...you said you love Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and the old geezer Myouga...but you didn't say a thing about me."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Kagome paused for a moment, thinking the question over. _Well, maybe I love him, but as a friend or a brother..._  
  
"Inuyasha, you may be rude, insensitive, and obnoxious, but you're one of my best friends. So yes, I do love you."  
  
"So I'm not good enough to be family?"  
  
"Best friends are closer than family."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Shut up, Inuyasha."  
  
"What?" he whined. "I was just wondering..."  
  
"Wonder about other things."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Whatever. How to open the well. Or something."  
  
"But we decided it wouldn't open, didn't we?"  
  
"Do the others know you're here?"  
  
"They better damn well know since I've been _gone_ for a day!"  
  
"Okay, okay. So wonder if they know."  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked back out the window. "There's so many...four-wheeled moving things out there."  
  
"Cars," Kagome told him. "They're called 'cars.'"  
  
"There's a lot," he commented. "A lot of 'cars.'"  
  
"Yep. That's all the noise you hear."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"And people."  
  


*******

  
  
Sango paced in front of the well worriedly. Shippou and Miroku had gone to get Kaede, but already too much time had passed. Well, maybe she was just impatient, she allowed as she perched on the edge of the well with Kirara. "Kirara, get me a rock, please," she requested, having gotten an idea.  
  
Kirara made an obliging noise and grabbed a rock from nearby, dropping it next to Sango.  
  
"Thank you, Kirara," smiled Sango. Carefully, she dropped the rock into the well and ducked as it spit the rock back up.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Sango looked over her shoulder and saw Miroku rubbing his head. He pouted and asked her, "What was _that_ for?"  
  
"It was the well," Sango explained. "I dropped a rock down to see if it would let it land on the bottom."  
  
Shippou hopped up onto the edge. "Kaede! It's here. The seals are right here."  
  
Slowly, Kaede ambled over to the well, peering down at the seals with her one good eye. "Hmmm. Miroku, have you tried to do anything?"  
  
"I tried to pull them into my air void but they're stuck."  
  
"Have you tried any spells?"  
  
"Last night. I failed."  
  
"And the seals repelled Shippou and that rock just now. Kagome and Inuyasha can't pass through either. What a predicament..."  
  
"Can you do anything, Kaede?" Sango asked anxiously.  
  
"I can try. Please stand back."  
  
Kirara, Sango, and Shippou moved away from the well while Miroku stood next to Kaede. They spoke for a brief moment then both nodded and began to utter a spell. A blue light bubbled up from the bottom of the well, it's dome-shaped head threatening to burst. Already Kaede had begun to sweat and sway, but Miroku, without breaking his concentration, offered his arm for her to lean on. The blue light grew larger and finally burst, causing a small explosion that blew off the top pieces of wood from the well. It knocked Kaede and Miroku backwards, causing Shippou to try and catch Kaede while Sango dove for Miroku.  
  
"Owww..." Shippou groaned from underneath the priestess.  
  
"Miroku?" Sango asked, shaking him. "Miroku, are you--" she stopped. Miroku's hand had wandered. "Pervert!" she smacked him on the head.  
  
He grinned obnoxiously. "Hello, Sango. How nice of you to catch me."  
  
"You...!"  
  
Shippou sighed heavily. "Kaede, are you okay?"  
  
"Yes," Kaede answered. "Miroku, Sango, quit fooling around. We have a serious situation here. Do any of you know where the mononoke went?"  
  
All three shook their heads simultaneously.  
  
Kaede sweatdropped. "Okay, then. We need to find the mononoke."  
  
"We can't without Kagome," Shippou piped up. "None of us can sense Shikon shards..."  
  
"...I suggest you get started then."  
  
All three face-faulted.  
  


*******

  
  
"Kikyo..." Inuyasha murmured. He tucked her hair behind her ear, allowing his fingers to rest on her face a little longer than necessary. She smiled softly at him. "Are you sure you want this?"  
  
Kikyo nodded confidently. "I'm sure." For a moment she paused, then let his name roll off of her tongue like sweet honey. "Inuyasha..."  
  
He allowed his lips to capture hers for a few moments before he pulled away and smiled down at her.  
  
"Inuyasha..."  
  
"Kikyo..."  
  
"Inuyasha..."  
  
He kissed her again and found her lips cold. Surprised, he pulled away and stumbled a step backwards.  
  
"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Kikyo asked.  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
He whirled and saw Kagome. "Kagome?"  
  
"Inuyasha, you love _me_, don't you? Why did you stop kissing me?" Kikyo pressed insistently.  
  
"I--" he started.  
  
"Inuyasha! Come to your senses! She's the _enemy_! She gave Naraku our Shikon shards!" Kagome cried.  
  
"But she--" he tried to say again.  
  
"Inuyasha, don't listen to her. Or does that girl mean more to you than me?" Kikyo demanded.  
  
"I--"  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
"You--I--"  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
"_Inuyasha_! You are _mine_!"  
  
He clamped his hands over his ears. He couldn't decipher which voice was Kagome and which voice belonged to Kikyo. They both wanted him to protect them, but Kikyo wanted to kill him. His concious mind knew this. Heedless of his hands on his ears, he could still hear them, yelling his name. Finally, one of them kneeled behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling his hands away gently with the other.  
  
"Inuyasha?" she asked softly.  
  
He woke up.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome repeated. "We're almost to the shopping center."  
  
"Kagome?" he sounded bewildered.  
  
"It's me," she confirmed. "Are you okay? You look kind of pale..."  
  
He nodded. "I'm fine." He sniffed. "I smell food...and way too many people."  
  
Kagome reached across him and pointed out the window. "There's the shopping center."  
  
"I smell ramen."  
  
Kagome laughed, the sound spilling over him like a thousand beautiful bells. He realized then that Kagome had a sweeter laugh than Kikyo, with no hint of despair or darkness, just purity and happiness. When she took his hand, it startled him out of his reverie and he realized that she wanted him to get up. He obliged and followed her off of the bus and into the incredibly noisy shopping center.  
  
"Are you hungry?" she asked. He nodded rapidly. "Okay. Let's get something to eat then."  
  
Kagome led him to the ramen stand nearby and ordered two bowls of ramen, a rice cake, and Oolong tea. They received the orders in moments and found sanctuary at a table under an umbrella.  
  
Willingly, Kagome forfeited her bowl of ramen to the hungry hanyou and nibbled at the rice cake in exchange. "I think we'll go to the popular store first," she mused. "The place where the boys at my school shop anyway." Yawning, she finished her Oolong tea and looked to him. He had noodles dangling from his mouth. "Is that okay?"  
  
"Whatever," he grumbled and slurped up the rest of the noodles. "All right, let's get going then."  
  
Kagome just nodded and threw away the trash. "Ready?"  
  
"As I'll get," he grumbled. "I want Tetsusaiga..."  
  
"Sorry," she apologized. Lazily, Kagome and Inuyasha strolled down the sidewalk. Suddenly, Inuyasha stopped and looked at a display in one of the windows, awed. Kagome failed to notice and continued onward, talking to him though he wasn't there. "And so I wanted to know your opinion on what I should wear on Saturday with Hojo," she finished. She waited for a moment and heard no reply. "Inuyasha?" she looked around. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha?!"  
  
"Kagome!" he called from down the sidewalk.  
  
She rushed towards his waving arm. "Inuyasha! Over here!"  
  
He met her halfway. "Oi, what the hell's a matter with you, Kagome?"  
  
"_Me_? _You_ wandered off!" she snapped.  
  
Snorting, he replied, "Feh! Whatever."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Kagome started off again. Inuyasha, irritated, grabbed the back of her dress, only to receive a slap. "Ow!" he cried, rubbing his face. "What the hell, Kagome?!"  
  
"You grabbed my dress, moron!"  
  
"Only so you wouldn't get lost again! You're worse than a kid!"  
  
"Argh! Inuyasha!" Kagome halted and faced the hanyou. "_Normal_ people do _this_." Carefully, she took his hand in hers. "Now, that's better. You looked like a two-year-old holding onto my dress like that, not to mention it was perverted."  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes but held her hand anyway. A few moments later, the arrived at the door to the clothing store and moseyed in. "Ah...what a cute skirt!" Kagome commented as they passed the juniors section.  
  
"Kagome..." he whined. "Let's just get the stuff and go..."  
  
"All right, all right," she conceded. However, she made a mental note to nab the skirt while she sent him to the mens' dressing room later. "Do you like what you have on?"  
  
"I don't care. I want my other outfit back," he grumbled. "And Tetsusaiga. I want Tetsusaiga."  
  
"You can't carry weapons in public," Kagome sighed. "How about those?" she asked, pointing to a rack of black jeans.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Inuyasha, at least make an effort to cooperate!" Kagome pouted.  
  
"Why?" he whined some more. "You can't s-word me here."  
  
A smile that scared Inuyasha senseless spread across the miko's face. She took him over to the jeans and picked one off of the rack. "Do you think you can _sit_ in these?"  
  
Inuyasha tumbled down before her feet. "Ow! Kagome!"  
  
"What? It's not my fault you're clumsy," she replied innocently. A girl nearby giggled.  
  
"He's trying to make you stop shopping, isn't he? My ex-boyfriend used to do the same thing," she commented to Kagome.  
  
"Yeah...he hates shopping," Kagome agreed awkwardly. Seething, Inuyasha got to his feet and contemplated smacking Kagome over the head. "What size pants do you have on right now?" she asked of her hanyou companion as soon as the intruding stranger left.  
  
"I don't know." He shrugged.  
  
"Um...ah! I'll call Mama and ask her what size she got you."  
  
"This paper thing is bothering me..." he grumbled, trying to rip the tag off of the jeans he wore.  
  
Sweatdropping, Kagome pulled the tag off and read the size. "Are these comfortable?"  
  
He shrugged again. "I don't know."  
  
"How can you _not_ know if something is comfortable or not?" Kagome questioned him.  
  
"I just don't," he pouted.  
  
Exasperatedly, Kagome pulled two pairs of jeans from the rack, one in the size he wore and one in a smaller size. "Go try these on."  
  
"...okay," he answered and began to unbuckle his belt.  
  
Instantly, Kagome turned bright red. "Not _here_!" she hissed. "Over in the dressing room!" she pointed and took him over there. "Two," she told the man at the counter. He handed her a tag to hang on the outside of Inuyasha's door, and Kagome pointed to an empty dressing room. "Go try it on."  
  
"You're pushy," he informed her and huffed off into the room, carefully hanging the tag on the door and shutting it.  
  
Sighing, Kagome hurried over to the juniors section and grabbed the skirt. She came back to the mens' section and began riffling through the shirts.  
  
"Higurashi!"  
  
She looked up. "Eh?"  
  
Hojo appeared beside her. "Hey, Higurashi. Funny running into you here."  
  
Smiling, Kagome nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Who are you shopping for?" he asked.  
  
"My friend from out of town," Kagome explained. "He lost all of his clothes on the bus and they didn't have a tag or identification on them. All he had was his costume."  
  
"Costume?" Hojo questioned.  
  
"Yeah, he's an actor," nodded Kagome.  
  
"Wow," Hojo breathed. "How long have you known him?"  
  
"A while," she replied evasively.  
  
Curiously, Hojo tilted his head to the side. _She looks kinda of...flushed._ "Are you feeling well? You _did_ just get over the bubonic plague..."  
  
"I'm fine!" Kagome insisted.  
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha called from the dressing room.  
  
"That's him," she told Hojo. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, all right?"  
  
Hojo smiled. "All right. Stay well, Higurashi!" _They must know each other very well, Kagome and this Inuyasogiri or Inuyasha or whatever. I may have competition...they don't even use familiar suffixes, they just call each other by their proper names._  
  
"Thanks!" she took off to the dressing room, pausing outside of Inuyasha's as Hojo walked off. "What it is, Inuyasha?"  
  
"These pants are too tight," he complained.  
  
"Which ones?" she asked.  
  
"The black ones."  
  
"They're both black."  
  
"The tight black ones."  
  
"Which pair is it?"  
  
"The ones I have on."  
  
"What size are they?"  
  
"I don't know, but it's too small."  
  
Twitching, she told him, "Then take them off, look at the tag, and tell me what size they are."  
  
Instead, he tossed them over the the dressing room door, where they landed on Kagome's head. "Get me bigger pants."  
  
"Inuyasha..." Kagome said, voice dangerously low. "Just _sit_ down."  
  
Inuyasha tumbled to the ground as Kagome took the pants off of her head and read the tag. "Bitch!" he told her.  
  
"Don't blame me for your clumsiness." She determined that the pants were the bigger of the two and walked out to the rack, getting the next size up. "Give me the hanger, Inuyasha."  
  
"Hanger?" he repeated.  
  
"Yes. What the pants were hanging on before you tried them on," she explained.  
  
"Oh." He threw it over the door and it smacked Kagome on the head. "Pants."  
  
"Owww..." she muttered and tossed the pants over the dressing room door. Quickly, she hung the pants back up and went back to browsing the shirts. She selected a few shirts--one black one, another white one, a grey one, and a couple of red ones. Then she headed over to the blue jeans and looked through those, finding a misplaced pair of sparkly red pants in Inuyasha's size. Giggling, she put them over her arm between the red shirts.  
  
"Kagome!" he called again from the dressing rooms.  
  
Sighing, she walked back over. "Yes, Inuyasha?"  
  
"These pants are too small!" he complained.  
  
"Let me see," she said suspiciously.  
  
He shuffled out of the dressing room, the pants nearly falling off of his waist.  
  
"Inuyasha...those pants are too _big_."  
  
"No. They're too small. The legs aren't big enough."  
  
"Oh." Kagome shoved him back in the dressing room. "Stay right there. I'll go get you some pants with bigger legs." Quickly, she dashed off and got him some cargo pants in the smaller of the two original sizes she had gotten him. "Try these."  
  
He did. "Oh. These are okay."  
  
Grinning, Kagome nodded. "Good. Let me see."  
  
He walked out and showed her.  
  
_I liked the tighter pants..._ Kagome thought distractedly. _Erg..._ "Okay. Let's get you some more."  
  
Sighing, he walked back into the dressing room and changed then joined Kagome. She hung up the black pants again as Inuyasha handed the tag back to the man at the counter for the dressing rooms. They selected a few more pairs of cargo pants in different colors and took all of the clothes up to the cashier.  
  
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Kagome asked him.  
  
"Feh! Are you kidding me, woman? It was horrible," he growled.  
  
"...Same old Inuyasha," she sighed quietly. 


	3. Sunday Afternoon

_Thanks: Crystal Mizuka, linh, giggleplex, Mika, Clow Angel, Michikaru, Starry, Ramen Goood, Inu/power, miroku's-my-man_  
  


**One Week With Inuyasha  
Chapter Three: Sunday Afternoon**

  
  
"How about this one?" Kagome asked, walking out of the dressing room and standing in front of Inuyasha. She wore the skirt she had bought earlier and a form-fitting pale yellow top with loose, long sleeves. The skirt was pink with pale yellow flowers sprinkled around and came to just above her knees.  
  
Inuyasha looked at her. _Dammit...she can't wear that on her date with that Hojo creep. She looks too good in it._ Snorting, he shook his head. "It's too short, and you can see your boobs through the top, what little you have."  
  
Irritated, Kagome stomped one foot and glared at him. "You...you haven't liked anything yet!" she told him angrily. She walked back into the dressing room and slipped on a longer pink skirt, about shin-length, with yellow sequins sewn around the hem and small, pale yellow stars. "How about this one?"  
  
"The shirt, bitch. I told you that you can your boobs through that shirt," he told her with annoyance.  
  
"Why don't you just _sit_ down and shut up?!" she barked at him.  
  
Swiftly, he tumbled off of his chair and into the carpet. "Stupid bitch," he muttered, getting back up in his chair. He would have burst out with something unkind but Kagome gave him a horrible look when he did before, not to mention people pointed and stared at him.  
  
Kagome changed back into her original outfit and stood outside her dressing room. "All right," she told him. "_You_ go find something for me to wear."  
  
Arching an eyebrow, Inuyasha stared at her. "You've got to be shitting me."  
  
"No, go on. Find me something to wear," she ordered.  
  
He had helped her find the top in the first place, so he knew what size shirt to get her. He would have to hazard a guess on the skirt or pants or whatever he decided to choose for her. Uncertainly, he lumbered off to the juniors section and began looking through the racks of clothes.  
  
"Um...sir?" an attendant asked hesitantly. "May I help you find something?"  
  
"I...no," he snorted. "Get lost."  
  
"If you need anything, just yell then," the clerk replied congenially.  
  
"Stupid bastard," he muttered. "Why isn't there anything here that _won't_ show off her figure?" he grumbled, then found a puke green top with three-quarters sleeves. Grinning, he put that over his arm and wandered over to the pants. He needed to find the most horrible pants he could find to go with it. He found a pair of pants made of couderoy in an obnoxious pink and held the shirt up with the pants underneath it. "Perfect!"  
  
He joined Kagome again at the dressing room. "Here."  
  
Kagome took it. "Uh..."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"No. I wanted you to be _serious_ about it, Inuyasha!"  
  
"I am. Try them on."  
  
Sighing, Kagome gave in and tried the outfit on. "Ugh...Inuyasha...this...I can tell it looks horrible..."  
  
"Let me see!" he said eagerly.  
  
She stepped out. "I look terrible..."  
  
_You sure do!_ he crowed mentally. It was a struggle to keep the smirk off of his face. "You look fine, Kagome."  
  
"You're lying."  
  
"I'm not. Besides, if this Hobo--"  
  
"Hojo."  
  
"If this Ho_bo_ really likes you, then he won't care what you wear. Think of it as testing his integrity."  
  
Kagome let this digest.  
  
"You're jealous."  
  
"What?! What the hell are you talking about, Kagome? There's nothing for me to be _jealous_ of! I would have to _care_ about you to be jealous!"  
  
"Are you saying you don't care about me?"  
  
"I...I'm not saying that!"  
  
"Then what _are_ you saying?!" Kagome demanded.  
  
"I'm _saying_ you look fine in that!" Inuyasha snapped. People were beginning to stare at them as they passed by the dressing rooms.  
  
Flushing, Kagome glared at him. "You're fashion-retarded. I'm going home."  
  
Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. She had just uttered the one phrase he was loathe to hear. "Why?"  
  
"Because we've done nothing but fight all day. You know where home is, I'm leaving," she growled, stalked back into the dressing room, changed her clothes, grabbed her purse and bag of clothes, shoved the bag of clothes at Inuyasha, and stormed out of the department store, leaving a very bewildered Inuyasha behind.  
  


*******

  
  
Worried about her--no, worried about the Shikon shards, Inuyasha decided to follow Kagome back home, careful to stay far enough behind her to keep her unaware of his presence. However, he knew it was bad news when she ducked into an alley between a bookstore and a bakery, still projecting her image of outrage.  
  
Kagome, however, felt it perfectly safe because she had taken this shortcut many times before.  
  
"That stupid Inuyasha," she muttered, her legs finally walking like human legs rather than stiff boards and her hands relaxing out of fists. Tears sprang to her eyes that she forced back with a strange determination. "He's nothing but an idiot and I...I hate him. All his does is get in _my_ way, not the other way around." She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't hear it when three men in their early twenties stepped out from the shadows. In fact, she didn't notice they were there into she walked head-first into the leader.  
  
"Hello there," the thug crooned.  
  
Kagome gulped. "W-what do you want?"  
  
Kagome suddenly found herself pinned to the back wall of the bakery, a dirty knife with a rather sharp edge pressed against her throat. The breath caught in her throat as she fought not to cry.  
  
"Give me your money," the thug hissed.  
  
"I...I don't have any," she whispered fearfully, the tears she had been trying to fight spilling over her cheeks. "A-all I have is...is a credit card..."  
  
"Well," the thug grinned, "we'll just have to take it another way." He eyed her dress.  
  
Kagome screamed, but it was cut short by the blade pressing harder on her throat.  
  
Not far off, Inuyasha's ears pricked forward. "Kagome!" he cried, springing immediately into action. He darted into the alleyway and came careening around the corner, claws slashing and growling. His hat had fallen off in the process somewhere back on the sidewalk.  
  
The attackers looked up at Inuyasha, who grabbed the one with the knife in an iron-strong grip. The thug promptly dropped the knife as Kagome scampered behind Inuyasha.  
  
The other two thugs began to laugh. "Look, he's got puppy ears!" one of them crowed.  
  
Inuyasha simply broke the wrist of the man who had held the knife to Kagome's throat and threw him over to the trashcans on the other side of the alley, snarling, "You stay away from her from now on! Do you hear me?!"  
  
Cradling his broken wrist, the thug that had had the knife took off, the other two staying only long enough for Inuyasha to deliver a punch to the jaw of one of them. That sent them scrambling away. Then Inuyasha turned and faced Kagome, checking her for injuries. "Are you hurt?"  
  
Kagome shook her head. "No."  
  
"Feh! Stupid weakling human _punks_," Inuyasha grumbled.  
  
"Punks?" Kagome giggled.  
  
With a definitive air, Inuyasha nodded. "Yes, punks." He trotted over to where he had had dropped the bag with his brand new clothes in it and came back over to Kagome. "Ready to--"  
  
Kagome hugged him.  
  
Inuyasha stiffened for a moment, then wrapped one arm around her, feeling his shoulder dampen. "Kagome?" he asked softly.  
  
"I was scared," she sobbed, her words slightly muffled by his shirt. "I thought you didn't follow me...I thought I was alone, and...and those guys...they were..."  
  
He hugged her tighter, following his instincts. "But I'm here. I came, didn't I? What are you worrying about? Did you actually think I would let you walk off with the Shikon shards like that?"  
  
Kagome sniffed loudly and fished a tissue out of her purse, breaking free from Inuyasha. "Right. Whatever," she mumbled.  
  
He frowned. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
She nodded and wiped her eyes with the tissue. "Yes."  
  
"Hop on."  
  
He offered his back to her, which she promptly climbed on, and he brought her back to the temple, jumping from roof to roof.  
  


*******

  
  
"Do any of us actually _know_ what the mononoke looked like?" Miroku asked, sitting at the base of the Goshinboku tree. With his staff laid across his lap and nowhere to turn, Miroku felt helpless.  
  
Hiraikotsu sat between Miroku and Sango at the trunk of the Goshinboku tree, acting as a barrier between them. Sleeping, Kirara had curled up in Sango's lap. Shippou sat in front of the priest and youkai exterminator. "No, Sango sighed. "At least, I don't."  
  
Miroku looked to Shippou. "Do you?"  
  
The kitsune cub shook his head. "No, I don't even smell it anymore."  
  
"This is impossible without Kagome and Inu...ya..." Sango trailed off. "Just our luck...there goes Kikyo's shikigami..."  
  
Four pairs of eyes--Kirara had awakened at the mention of shikigami--watched the eels slide by. All four bodies rose, weapons at the ready, Kirara transformed.  
  
From the mists appeared Kikyo.  
  
"What do you want, Kikyo?" called Miroku.  
  
She looked from the motley gathering to the well. "Where's Inuyasha? And Kagome...never mind Kagome."  
  
"None of your business!" Shippou growled angrily. "_Kitsune bi_!"  
  
With indifference, Kikyo merely blocked it. "I will ask you one more time, then I will become forceful. Where is Inuyasha?"  
  
Sango picked up the cub. "He and Kagome are trapped on her side."  
  
Wordlessly, Kikyo drifted to the well and looked down.  
  
"Let me push her down," Shippou whispered fervently to Sango.  
  
"No," she said simply.  
  
Sighing, the kitsune pouted.  
  
"Can you lift the seals?" Miroku asked suddenly.  
  
Surprised, Kikyo blinked. "You want my help?"  
  
"If you can lift the seals, then yes. Otherwise, refrain from wasting my time."  
  
Kikyo narrowed her eyes and turned back to the well, clasping her hands as if in prayer and began chanting.  
  
"Kikyo, we tried that. Your sister and I failed."  
  
"You are weak."  
  
"And you aren't?"  
  
"Precisely."  
  
She resumed chanting. As before, a blue light bubbled from the depths, rapidly changing to a haunting red the color of blood. It burst, knocking Kikyo off of her feet and clear across the field. Several yards away, she stared at the well. "Those may only be removed by the mononoke that put them there. Their power increases with the shikon shards it has in its possession."  
  
Miroku peered over the well. "How many do you suppose it has?"  
  
"Five or six," Kikyo answered breathlessly. "If we do not defeat this mononoke...it will cross the well." She ventured closer. "We will need the assistance of a youkai for this task."  
  
"You're a youkai," Miroku pointed out.  
  
Kikyo shook her head. "First, you and I need a truce. The moment Inuyasha crosses the well, the mononoke will kill him. He's supposed to come to hell with me; he promised me that much, so that's my end of it."  
  
"Although I don't agree with the fate you have chosen for Inuyasha, I do not wish for him to die at the hand of a mononoke either. Kagome will cross with him, most likely, and if he dies within the first moments of the battle, Kagome will die as well. A truce is certainly in order," Miroku bargained. Speechless, Sango and Shippou watched. "The truce implies working together against a common enemy without any attempts at killing anyone except the enemy. Agreed?"  
  
Kikyo nodded. "My shikigami will not touch you, or her, or the kitsune if you do not try to kill me again." A dirty look was thrown in Shippou's direction.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
They each extended a hand and shook on it.  
  
"Er...Miroku..." Shippou trailed off.  
  
"Can we borrow him for a moment?" Sango asked, grabbing the priest by the arm. "Are you _crazy_?! This is _Kikyo_ we're talking about!"  
  
"No, but she speaks the truth. We all want Inuyasha back and safe and the mononoke dead. It will be easier if we work together instead of against," Miroku explained. He turned back to Kikyo. "Can you sense shikon shards?"  
  
"Of course," she scoffed. "If my reincarnation can, then I can."  
  
"Perfect." Miroku grinned. "Well, let's get started, shall we?"  
  
Kikyo nodded. "Let me get my arrows then."  
  


*******

  
  
When Inuyasha and Kagome got home, they found that Mrs. Higurashi had cleaned out one of the spare rooms and had rolled out a futon for Inuyasha in there. While Inuyasha sat on the futon and snooped around the room, Kagome hung up his new clothes. After that, they entered the living room to watch television.  
  
However, Inuyasha quickly grew bored of this and abruptly rose, wandering outside. Confused, Kagome followed him until she realized he was heading for the well. With a sigh, Kagome realized she still hadn't done some of her homework and thundered up the stairs. "Mama, if Inuyasha looks for me, tell him I don't want to be bothered!"  
  
"All right," Mrs. Higurashi answered.  
  
She ran to her room and locked the door. Nonetheless, it wasn't long before she heard a long string of swears flourish from the well. Sighing, Kagome went back to her homework.  
  
Inuyasha, however, found himself more bored than before. He wanted to play cards but somehow it didn't seem as enjoyable without Kagome, he discovered soon after he found the deck and randomly flipped cards onto the table. "Bored..." he muttered.  
  
Mrs. Higurashi kneeled next to him at the table, holding a deck of cards in her own hands. Awed, he watched as she shuffled them rapidly and with precision, something he could never hope to do with his claws as they were. She smiled and dealt them out into the traditional Solitaire setting. Inuyasha watched for a few moments before finally asking, "How do you play that?"  
  
Mrs. Higurashi collected her game and shuffled the cards. "It's called 'Solitaire,'" she explained. "Shuffle your cards." Inuyasha attempted to and nearly spilled the cards everywhere. She laughed softly and picked up his cards, shuffling them for him. "Now. Lay down one card face up and set down six cards face down." She showed him with her own deck. He copied her, waiting attentively for the new instructions. "Put a card face up on the second pile and lay down a face down card on the other five piles." He did so. "Now, lay one face up on the third stack and one face down on the others." He did so and caught on, finishing off the rest of the Solitaire set up and looking expectantly at Kagome's mother. Congenially, she told him the rules of the game and proceeded to play her own game until Inuyasha hesitantly began to play his.  
  
Solitaire kept his attention for about fifteen minutes.  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
Inuyasha looked up at Sota. "Yo."  
  
"Want to play video games with me?" the younger boy asked excitedly.  
  
Shrugging, Inuyasha put all his cards into a semi-neat pile and trotted off with Sota to go play video games. "You'll have to show me how because they don't have these at home."  
  
Sota nodded eagerly. "Of course, of course! See, this one's easy. You just push the buttons over here," he pointed, "and the guy on the screen does the stuff to the thing."  
  
Somehow, Inuyasha understood that.  
  
In a few moments, Inuyasha and Sota were playing a fighting game and desperately trying to knock the other one out on the screen. When Kagome no longer heard Inuyasha from her room, she frowned, finished her math homework, and softly trod out of her room. She edged down the stairs--if Inuyasha was taking a nap, she didn't want to disturb him. When she reached the base of the stairs however, she could hear Inuyasha and Sota playing video games.  
  
"It figures," she muttered and trotted into the kitchen to get something to drink. "Man! I'm _so_ tired!" she complained and stretched. "Homework really takes a lot out of a girl! Not to mention the day I spent fighting Inuyasha at the department store and the--hey, why's _that_ circled?" she crept closer to the calendar. A day in between the day labeled last quarter moon and the day labeled new moon had been circled in red pen with a star off to the side. Kagome raised her eyebrows and tried to remember why she would circle that day, or anyone else wo..."Damn!" she swore quietly.  
  
"Inu_yashaaaaa_!" Kagome called.  
  
"What is it, wench?" he called back. She paused to think about how she should phrase what she wanted to tell him. "Spit it out, woman!" he demanded. She heard the console controller clatter to the ground a moment later. "Stupid piece of--"  
  
"SIT!" Kagome cried.  
  
Inuyasha came storming out of the room with Sota trailing behind him. "What do you _want_?!"  
  
"Inuyasha! Sis! C'mon..." Sota whined, tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve.  
  
"Hold on a minute," he told Sota. He grabbed Kagome by the arm and dragged her outside. "What do you want from me?"  
  
"Well," she started. "Um...the night after tomorrow is the First Night..."  
  
Inuyasha twitched. "You're shitting me."  
  
"Afraid not," she shook her head. "Sorry, Inuyasha, but I had to tell you."  
  
"Feh," he snorted, storming back into the house. Kagome sighed and wandered out to the Goshinboku tree, looking up at its branches.  
  
"This is the tree where I first found Inuyasha," she murmured. Memories of that centipede still made her shiver. She never wanted to see another youkai like _that_ again, not for a million yen!  
  
So she sat down. She was already getting tired of chasing Inuyasha all around her house and around Tokyo.  
  


*******

  
  
Kagome decided to eat by the Goshinboku tree that night, not caring to stay in the stuffy house. She felt somehow comforted by the tree, by the nature around the temple, and the food in her lap. Her arrows lay propped up against the bench as she gazed out across the property to the secluded well. "I miss Shippou, Sango, and Miroku..." she muttered, shoving a croquette into her mouth.  
  
Inuyasha hung upside down on the tree and looked at Kagome. "Why can't you shoot one of your arrows down the well? You know, miko's arrow and all that."  
  
"That's a good idea," Kagome answered, grabbing her arrows and her bow and heading over to the well. "Oh, and Inuyasha?"  
  
"Yeah?" he replied.  
  
"Sit."  
  
He fell out out of the tree.  
  
"What the hell, Kagome?!"  
  
Kagome giggled. "You're not supposed to hang upside down in the Goshinboku tree!"  
  
"It's _my_ tree, woman!" he growled, storming after her.  
  
Abruptly, she stopped and looked at him. "No, it's the temple's tree. It's the Goshinboku tree."  
  
"Feh!" he snorted. "It was my tree. I was pinned to it for fifty years."  
  
"Ah, Inuyasha," she sighed. They entered the secluded well, Kagome setting her quiver by the edge and snatching an arrow out of it. Inuyasha helped her stand up on the edge as she strung the bow and released it.  
  
It thunked on the bottom of the well so hard that the shaft trembled. The purple light that had glowed around the arrow as she shot it began to grow, expanding to fill the well with a column of violet. Inuyasha heard the well begin to rumble more than he felt it. The edges bucked, throwing Kagome off. Hurriedly, the hanyou snatched up his miko and darted out of the secluded well's enclosure, stopping at the Goshinboku tree, shielding her with his body as a brilliant light filtered out of the well's shack. A few moments later, the roof blew off, showering wood everywhere, as well as little pieces of pottery and assorted other things that had been inside the enclosure.  
  
"All right?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Un," she answered, nodding. Why did he sound so out of breath?  
  
"Good," he murmured, his eyelids drooping heavily.  
  
It wasn't but a few seconds later that Inuyasha collapsed.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered fearfully, holding the heavy hanyou against her. "Inuyasha? Wake up...Inuyasha, wake up." She jostled him a little. "Inuyasha, wake up!"  
  
He just lied there on her, breathing. That was when Kagome realized a large piece of debris stuck out of his back at an odd angle, and she could feel the other end of it through his ribcage.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she cried. The force of the explosion of the roof with Kagome's purifying power must have driven it farther in that it normally would've gone.  
  
"Shut up," he muttered. With a grunt, he yanked the piece of wood out from behind him. Sluggishly, blood began to stain his shirt. Kagome, thinking quickly, ran into the house and grabbed her first aid kit, which she had luckily moved into the house before dinner. She came back to find Inuyasha gingerly sitting on the bench. "Did you think a little thing like that would kill me?" he joked hoarsely.  
  
Blushing, Kagome shook her head. "No, but when you passed out..."  
  
He just grabbed her arm. "Fix me."  
  
She nodded and once more peeled back his clothes, this time wrapping the guaze around his ribs thickly. Inuyasha had taken off the wrappings on his shoulder during his sleep, which had healed perfectly. It would only be a matter of a few hours before Inuyasha recovered from this, she knew, but it still looked pretty bad.  
  
Mrs. Higurashi had heard the blast and watched Kagome and Inuyasha from the door of the house. She knew, from Kagome's talk, that Inuyasha healed very quickly and it took a lot to take him down for more than a few hours. She hadn't been worried when she realized that Inuyasha had shielded Kagome with his own body and that Kagome would take care of him. He seemed better even now, talking with Kagome and sitting with her on the bench while she patched him up.  
  
Satisfied that everything would turn out fine, Mrs. Higurashi turned and went back into the house.  
  
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kagome sat on the bench. Her dinner, miraculously, had escaped the explosion, leaving it free of debris and ready to eat, though a little cold. While she ate, she surveyed the damage to the well house from the bench as well as the wood and other materials scattered across the property. Most likely, there would be a notice or a story covered by the news about the purple light from the Higurashi Shrine in the morning, and she didn't want to face questions at school, but...  
  
Kagome sighed.  
  
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Hm?" she replied, shoving some noodles into her mouth.  
  
"Why'd you sigh?" he pressed, looking at her with concern etched lightly onto his face.  
  
She motioned to the grounds broadly with the arm holding her chopsticks. "When I come home tomorrow, I'm going to have to clean all of this up. Mama or Grandpa will make me."  
  
"Come home?" he repeated.  
  
"I have school tomorrow," she explained. "It sucks. I don't want to go to school. I actually wish the well was open...I don't even have any tests coming up! I should be out there--" she motioned vaguely to the well "--collecting shikon shards with you and the others! Instead, my arrow backfires on me and practically destroys the well house."  
  
"Do I go to 'school' with you in the morning?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"No."  
  
Flinching, Inuyasha recoiled. "Why?"  
  
"Because you're not allowed."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because you're not a student."  
  
"I could be."  
  
"You don't _want_ to be."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because it's a pain in the ass!"  
  
Inuyasha considered this. "You're a pain in the ass and I deal with you."  
  
"Sit!"  
  
He tumbled off the bench. Wincing, he stumbled to his feet and sat heavily on the bench, whining.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she cried, sitting back down. She had jumped up sometime during her tirade. "I'm sorry, I didn't think! It's just reflex now!"  
  
He waved away her worrying hands. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm not a baby you know."  
  
She couldn't help herself. "Are you sure about that? You sure act like one..."  
  
He growled at her.  
  
"Fussy," she muttered.  
  
"Well, you _did_ just 'sit' me, woman."  
  
"Oh no. We aren't going back to _that_ now, are we?"  
  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
  
"The not calling me by my name thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
Kagome sighed. "Never mind. I still have to come home and clean all of this crap up."  
  
"Well...if you won't let me come to school with you, I might as well do it. It'll give me something to do," he told her. "But not because I'm being nice! Just because I'll be bored all day tomorrow without anyone but your grandpa here. I assume Sota goes to school too? And your mother has a job?"  
  
She nodded. "More or less. Thank you, Inuyasha!"  
  
He rolled his eyes and looked up in the branches of the Goshinboku tree. "Feh. Whatever."  
  
Kagome looked up too, and saw the slight sliver left of the moon. Inuyasha would be human tomorrow night...  
  
A shiver ran down her spine. 


	4. Message to the Readers

Hello, everyone.  
  
I just wanted to drop by and tell everyone something pretty important. The end of my sophomore year of high school is fast approaching (May 22), and starting from this week (the week of the 24th) I am a very busy girl. I mostly likely won't have very much time to spend on writing (:-(), which I'm very sorry for.  
  
Here's my schedule from this week on:  
03/25/03: Field trip to Christus St. Joseph Hospital  
03/27/03: Health Occupation Students of America election day 1  
03/28/03: Health Occupation Students of America election day 2  
04/01/03: Field trip to the Fine Arts Museum  
04/05/03: Health Occupation Students of America banquet and new officer induction  
04/10/03: Trip to Dallas, Texas for Health Occupation Students of America Texas State Competition  
04/12/03: I finally return home from Dallas  
04/16/03: My sixteenth birthday  
04/22/03: Colorguard tryouts  
05/12/03: Beginning of final exam reviews  
05/19/03: Final Exam week  
05/22/03: Last day of school  
  
I may be able to squeeze out another chapter or two during the weekends, but don't expect much. (Please don't expect much of anything!!)  
  
I just thought I would warn everyone before everyone started emailing me and asking me where the rest of One Week With Inuyasha is.  
  
Love, Peace, and Inspiration,  
Arsahi  
  
P.S. Merci beaucoup to all of you that have reviewed! 


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